What SEDC does

SEDC (Southern Economic Development Council, Inc.) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional association founded in 1946 and headquartered at 250 Georgia Avenue East #100, Fayetteville, Georgia, serving economic development practitioners, site location consultants, and state and local economic development offices across the Southeastern, South Central, and Mid-Atlantic United States. The organization operates a membership-based platform with a small staff (1-10 employees) delivering an Annual Conference (2026 Bonita Springs, FL; 2027 The Greenbrier, WV), the Meet the Consultants event, SEDC U and Community Development Institute (CDI) training programs, the SEDC Webcast/Training Library on YouTube, the SEDC Podcast, a member directory and Ask SEDC! Q&A forum, a Career Center, the AmericanSouth Wage & Benefit Survey Report, and recognition programs including CEDA and Communication Awards. Technology infrastructure is built on Novi AMS association management software, with event pages exposing iCal/Google Calendar/Outlook downloads and partner data resources (GIS Planning/ZoomProspector, Chmura JobsEQ, GIS WebTech) made available to members; SEDC has no public API, SDK, or developer-facing platform.

SEDC generates revenue from membership dues, event sponsorships via its Annual Investment Program (which lists roughly 20 major corporate and EDO investors including Georgia Power, Dominion Energy, Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, Brasfield & Gorrie, South Carolina Power Team, Terracon, and Central Alabama Electric Cooperative), conference and webinar registration fees, and publication sales; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors with President Gene Stinson and Executive Director of Operations Matthew Darius leading day-to-day management, and three affiliated nonprofit entities operate under SEDC's umbrella — the Community Development Council (CDC), SEDC Educational Foundation, and CEDA. The strategic positioning is that of an entrenched regional trade association rather than a technology vendor, with editorial content (podcasts, webinars, news) that increasingly references AI and large-scale industrial investment announcements (Google, Amazon, Applied Digital, Blue Origin) but does not build proprietary AI tooling in-house.

Name

SEDC

Legal name

Southern Economic Development Council, Inc.

Website

https://sedc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SEDC is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional association founded in 1946 that delivers conferences, training, networking, and benchmarking publications to economic development practitioners, site consultants, and state and local EDOs across the American South.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SEDC (Southern Economic Development Council) is a regional, membership-based professional association serving economic development practitioners across the American South. Its core offerings include the annual conference, professional development training (SEDC U), webinars, member directory access, networking events (Meet the Consultants), publications (AmericanSouth Wage & Benefit Survey), and recognition programs (Communication Awards, CEDA Awards). The organization also administers the Community Development Council (CDC), SEDC Educational Foundation, and Bollinger Foundation scholarship programs.

Product overview

SEDC (Southern Economic Development Council) is a professional association providing a platform of services for economic development practitioners across the American South. The organization operates primarily as a membership-based association rather than a software product company, offering an integrated suite of event management, professional development, networking, and recognition programs. The core offerings include the annual conference, webinar programming, training libraries, career center, member directory, and research publications like the AmericanSouth Wage & Benefit Survey. These services are delivered through the SEDC website powered by Novi AMS association management software, with supplementary platforms for training (YouTube/SEDC Webcast), podcasts (Anchor.fm), and event registration with calendar integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• #AmericanSouth: A brand/platform used by SEDC for wage and benefit surveys and regional economic development content covering the American South.
• SEDC U
• Community Development Institute (CDI)
• The SEDC Podcast

Products and services

• Annual Conference Signature annual event bringing together economic development professionals across the American South for networking, educational sessions, and professional development, held annually in August.
• Meet the Consultants

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, major sponsor, sponsor and minor.

• Community Development Council (CDC)coreOthersSEDC serves as the administrative entity for the Community Development Council (CDC), supporting and coordinating community development initiatives alongside economic development efforts
• AmericanSouth.netstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional platform partnership for American South economic development content and resources
• Georgia Power Companymajor sponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor, Statewide Director of Regional Economic Development (Elyse Davis) and Regional Economic Development Managers listed as primary contacts
• Norfolk Southern CorporationsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Industrial Development Managers (Brian Gwin, Cathleen Flournoy) serve as contacts for economic development initiatives
• CSX Transportation, Inc.sponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Senior Director Industrial Development (Kellen Riley) and team listed as contacts
• Dominion EnergysponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Economic Development leadership team (Jen Kostyniuk, Tammy Coghill) serve as contacts
• Brasfield & GorriesponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Project Development and Business Development contacts
• Central Alabama Electric CooperativesponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Manager of Community and Economic Development (Connie Bainbridge) listed as contact
• One Acadiana Inc.sponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Lafayette-based economic development organization
• Lafayette Economic Development AuthoritysponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; President/CEO Mandi Mitchell leads the organization
• Sherman Economic Development CorporationsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Mission to grow and diversify Sherman economy through primary employer development
• Economic Leadership, LLCsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Consultancy founded in 2013 by Ted Abernathy, works in 27 states across the country
• South Carolina Power TeamsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Economic development utility partnership for South Carolina
• Golden Shovel AgencysponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Marketing and economic development agency partner
• ARCO/Murray National Construction CompanysponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Construction and development company specializing in industrial projects
• Central SC AlliancesponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; President & CEO Jason Giulietti leads the organization
• TerraconsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Engineering and environmental consulting firm with National Manager - Industrial (Jacob Hickman)
• Camoin AssociatessponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Economic development consultancy based in Richmond, VA
• ECS, LtdsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Engineering and consulting services
• Forward Wichita FallssponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Economic development organization for Wichita Falls, Texas
• GIS Web TechsponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; GIS technology services for economic development
• 365 Degree Total Marketing (Great Southern Publishers)sponsorOthersAnnual investor and sponsor; Full-service marketing company with experience in economic development
• Violet PRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPR firm providing media training webinars for economic developers; April Mason (President) and Amanda Ferraro (Account Director) lead sessions on media relations for economic development
• IncentiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI-driven solutions company for economic development; CEO Adam Perschke quoted on AI technology in economic development context
• GIS PlanningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided COVID-19 mapping tools and resources for members during pandemic; ZoomBusiness platform for local business support

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Economic Development Council (IEDC): IEDC is the largest national professional association for economic developers, offering conferences, training, certification, and publications. It directly competes with SEDC for economic-development practitioners and corporate sponsors, but at a national rather than regional scope.
• National Association of Development Organizations (NADO): NADO is a membership association for regional development organizations and planning districts across the U.S. It overlaps with SEDC's audience of state and regional EDOs and competes for similar training, conference, and policy-advocacy mindshare.
• Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA): CDFA is a national association supporting development finance agencies and professionals, offering training, certifications, and an annual conference. It overlaps with SEDC on economic-development education and policy content, particularly around incentives and financing tools.
• Site Selectors Guild: The Site Selectors Guild is a professional association of site location consultants — one of SEDC's named primary customer segments. It runs its own member events, networking forums, and recognition programs that directly compete with SEDC's 'Meet the Consultants' and Annual Conference offerings.
• Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA): GEDA is the state-level economic development association serving Georgia practitioners — a subset of SEDC's membership. It competes for dues, training attendance, and sponsorships from the same Georgia-based EDOs and corporate members that SEDC serves.

Emerging players

• CoreNet Global: CoreNet Global is a membership association for corporate real estate and workplace professionals, including site selection and economic development functions. It competes with SEDC for corporate-site-selection content and high-end conference attendance from a related but more corporate-RE-focused audience.
• NAIOP: NAIOP is the commercial real estate development association with chapters across the U.S. It addresses site selection, industrial development, and economic incentive topics that overlap with SEDC's content, and competes for similar developer and corporate-tenant engagement.
• American Planning Association (APA): APA is a national membership association for urban and community planners. It overlaps with SEDC on community-development education (e.g., CDI's community-development scope) and competes for the same municipal and county-level professional-development budget.

Broad incumbents

• Select USA: Select USA is the U.S. Department of Commerce's investment-promotion program supporting foreign direct investment into the U.S. It is a broader government-run incumbent in the same FDI and site-selection ecosystem, often partnering with — but also partially substituting for — regional EDOs.

Others

• Area Development Magazine: Area Development is a long-running publication and conference organizer covering corporate site selection and economic development. It competes with SEDC's AmericanSouth Survey and Annual Conference as an alternative source of benchmarking data and executive networking for the same audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7Cx5S1C7WY3vAG80UXnbxw
• Facebookfacebook.com/SEDCouncil
• Xx.com/sedcouncil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SEDC